For years, FIFA reigned as the undisputed king of soccer video games. Even after its rebranding to EA Sports FC, not much changed. But now, a surprising contender is rising. A new game hasn’t even officially launched, and it already surpassed FC 25’s numbers on Steam, pulling in more than 100,000 players during its closed beta.
New Player On the Pitch
The game in question is Rematch, the latest project from Sloclap. Fans were caught off guard, as the studio is best known for combat and martial arts titles like Sifu. However, Sloclap decided to take a bold turn with a more arcade-inspired soccer game.
So far, the gamble appears to be paying off. The closed beta on Steam has drawn considerable attention, with a peak of 118,739 players. This figure outdoes the highest number of concurrent players ever registered for EA Sports FC 25 on the platform, which was 110,000.
Such levels of interest are rare for a game still in testing and signal a promising future.
Rematch is scheduled to launch on June 19 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with a day-one debut on Xbox Game Pass. The current test is only available to those who signed up in advance, but with open testing phases on the horizon, gamers’ interest is likely to grow even more.
What Rematch Brings to the Field
Designed as an online multiplayer soccer experience, Rematch offers quick, action-packed matches between two teams of five players. Each participant controls a single character from a third-person perspective, and the gameplay focuses more on agility and teamwork, instead of aiming for realism.
The controls are easy to learn and allow players to perform classic soccer maneuvers, but smart, coordinated movements and accurate passes are also essential to win. Players can also customize their characters and uniforms.
Seasonal content, along with several competitive game modes, will be available once the game launches with its $29.99 price tag.